Bromberg part 2

You may remember me mentioning before about the acoustic bassist Brian Bromberg; now, I thought he was a genius before, but I may have found an album by him that tops Downright Upright. I was looking through some articles and web sites and I found an album called 'Jaco', which had a front cover with Bromberg's face in the style of Jaco's self-titled album. Bromberg said himself on his website, "I wanted to have a CD cover that from the first time you saw it you instantly knew what this recording was about ... If you remember Jaco's first solo record cover, you would know just by looking at my CD cover that this project is all about Jaco and his music. I knew that most musicians and bass players throughout the world would instantly recognize what I feel is one of the most visual and identifiable record cover's of all time. I wanted the CD cover to take you back to that time in your life when you heard Jaco's record for the first time -- what that meant to you -- what that meant to all of us!", and this is exactly what I've felt after listening to this album.

I've been able to get a hold of this album, and I'm blown away. I've listened to a lot of Jaco tributes, and they've all been pretty awesome, but this is something else. Bromberg's mix of electric and acoustic bass, fused with fresh arrangements of the Jaco classics, makes this album is just something else. Whether the track is in the similar vein to the original, like "Continuum" or "The Chicken", or whether it's a totally differ ant animal altogether, like the fusion-orientated "Three Views of a Secret" or the orchestrated "Portrait of Tracy", all of the music on this album is just breath-taking. And it's because of Jaco. Brian has done a phenomenal job of taking the Pastorius' masterpieces and giving them a lick of paint and giving a fresh approach. You'll hear some really interesting arrangements, all of them original in their own way. One of my favourite tracks, surprisingly, is what I believe is a Bromberg original in the style of Jaco, with some beautiful moments featuring the acoustic guitar and electric bass intertwining some beautiful melodic passages.

All in all, the album is glorious. The luscious accompaniments to the tracks, despite some being synthesized, are fitting and creative. I would definitely recommend sourcing out this album. Unfortunately, it's not on Spotify, or else I would screaming about it at the top of my voice on Twitter, Facebook, and anywhere else I could!

'til next time...

Thanks ~ The Jazzbone